“Was he funny?” She looked so curious, and I realized that she must have had a million questions about what Frank MacMillan was like as a father.
“He could be,” I said slowly. “He could be charming and funny, always the life of the party. But at home, he was much quieter. He liked to hole up and read.” Although, I suspected now that he’d been hiding from my mother. Hiding rather than fighting.
Coward.
This time, I shook off the thought. Maybe he hadn’t been the hero I’d thought he was, but maybe he wasn’t a coward either.
Lila placed a hand over mine. “Lots of people have demons, Brandon. It doesn’t make them weak or cowardly.”
I nodded. Maybe the truth was somewhere in the middle. Something inside of me shifted as my perspective of my father and the whole situation shifted. Maybe he hadn’t been a white knight, but he hadn’t been the villain of the story either. “He really stood up to your—er, Devereaux?”
She nodded. “He really did. And when he came to the house, he was always nice to me. And Tess. Most of the stars who came over either didn’t notice we were alive or were fake nice to us because they thought it was expected.” She smiled. “But your dad was nice. Genuinely kind. Sometimes, he even left my father to come play with us.” Her eyes grew distant as she got lost in memories.
Her expression softened, and suddenly she looked so sweet, so vulnerable. It was like night and day from the hardened Hollywood cynic she played at school. I supposed this was the girl Jack saw. The reason he’d fallen head over heels for a girl he’d claimed to despise.
She was an enigma, this sister of mine. And I could totally see how Jack would adore the hell out of her. The thought of him… how he was likely on his way as we spoke. Oh crap. “Hey, Lila, Jack was really worried, so I—”
“I wonder how we never met back then,” she interrupted. Tilting her head to the side, she studied me closely. “I think I would have remembered if we’d met.”
She looked so confused that I grinned. “I’m almost positive we didn’t. My dad wasn’t the only one on that set,” I reminded her. “My mom always went with me when I was filming. She stayed in my trailer during filming and made me stay there too when I wasn’t needed on set.”
She arched a brow. “So you wouldn’t be tainted by the evil Hollywood people?”
I laughed. “Something like that. She was overprotective.”
Lila clapped a hand over her heart in fake shock. “No.”
“It’s true,” I played along. “The woman is just a smidge overbearing like that.”
She started to laugh until the sound of a key in the lock had us both looking over.
“Speaking of overprotective,” I started.
“You told him I was here.” Her tone was flat. Unreadable. Her face had gone deathly pale.
I winced. “Sorry. He was really worried and—”
The door flew open, and Jack’s wide frantic eyes darted around until they locked on Lila.
Tension filled the room in a heartbeat. The connection linking the two of them was so clear I could practically see it, even from across the room.
I held my breath until Jack broke the silence. “Lila… what the—” His eyes narrowed dangerously as they fixed on the bruises at her throat. “What the hell happened to you?”
Fifteen
Jack
Murder. I was going to commit murder.
I was going to kill whoever laid his hands on my girl.
That was the only thing I could think as I took three giant strides to close the distance and drop down to my knees in front of Lila, running gentle hands over her hair, her face, trying to figure out the extent of her pain. “Who did this? Are you okay? When did this—”
“Jack.” She cut me off with a hand on my shoulder, and I could feel Brandon’s heavy gaze on me.
I’d interrupted something.
But I had so many questions. For hours now, I’d been frantic. Panicked. First Devereaux had thrown bombshell after bombshell at me, but even worse than that was the moments after, when Tess and I had set out to find Lila only to discover that she was missing.
Tess had been halfway to a club to see if she’d gone to some afterparty with Siobhan and Evie when I’d gotten Brandon’s text. I’d told Tess that she’d been found so she could go home, but the entire drive here I’d been wired, my heart pounding with fear and worry and…
For good reason.
Her perfect pale skin was bruised. Someone had done this. I tried to swallow. I tried to think.
Next thing I knew, it was Lila soothing me rather than the other way around.
“Shh, it’s okay.” Lila wrapped her arms around my shoulders and tugged me toward her until I had my head in her lap like a child. “I’ll explain everything,” she said as she leaned over so she was whispering in my ear, stroking my hair.
I lifted my head, some of that panic easing in the face of her calm.
“I’ll just, uh…” Brandon scooted away from Lila. “I’ll give you guys a minute.”
For the life of me, I couldn’t read Lila’s expression when he went to leave. It almost felt like she didn’t want to be left alone with me.
But that couldn’t be right.
“Lila. Sweetheart. Princess—”
“Don’t call me that,” she said with a wince.
“Sorry. I—” It had been something I said to tease her, but tonight, hearing her father talk about his little princess. I cringed at my callousness. “I had no idea.”
She nodded.
I reached out a hand and stopped short of touching her. “Did he do this?”
She nodded again, and my rage had my outstretched hand shaking and fire spreading through my veins. I’d never understood the phrase ‘seeing red’ until just this moment when vision was lost in a haze of anger that nearly knocked me over.
I took a deep breath and lowered my hand to her knee. “I will kill him.”
This is about her, I reminded myself. This wasn’t about me and my need for revenge.
Not yet, at least. It was about Lila. My gut did a flip that had nothing to do with this all-consuming rage and everything to do with nerves.
I had to tell her.
I knew this.
But telling her meant putting my father at risk. And more importantly… I eyed this face which had become so damn precious to me. This person I loved more than myself.
Telling her might very well mean breaking her heart.
And yet…
No more secrets. That was what I’d demanded, wasn’t it? That was what we both deserved.
I cleared my throat. “Lila, there’s something I need to tell you.”
She tugged her hand away when I went to reach for it. Her gaze grew wary, or maybe that was disbelief I saw there.
But how could it be when I hadn’t even told her yet?
“Lila, your father… he’s been keeping a secret from you,” I started. “He should have told you, or your mother should have.” I dropped my head for a second and braced myself for her shock. Her hurt. “I’m sorry that it’s me telling you this, Lila, but you should know that your father—”